Armour: No reason to believe Emmert will bring change

NCAA president Mark Emmert speaks at a press conference before the national championship game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Connecticut Huskies at AT&T Stadium.(Photo: Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports)

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NCAA leaders brush off threat of unions, saying any impact would be limited and years away

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ignoring a problem and hoping it goes away is no way to get things done.

The NCAA has managed to turn it into an art form.

Four university presidents, along with Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, showed up Sunday to provide cover for Mark Emmert as he gave his annual state of the NCAA. But for all their reassurances that they're serious about fixing the NCAA – pinky swear! – their words rang as hollow as ever.

They completely ducked the question of how the recent decision to allow Northwestern football players to unionize could impact the NCAA. They revealed no concrete deals about governance restructuring, other than to say it's coming and that the five power conferences will likely be given more clout.

They couldn't even guarantee the membership will sign off on the reforms, no small thing considering it has rejected efforts in the past.

"Most of Division I members see that we're standing at a fork in the road," said Kirk Schulz, president of Kansas State University and a member of the NCAA's executive committee. "I think at the end of the day, there's a realization that if you don't do this, we could be in some real trouble."

For years, the NCAA has ignored obvious signs of trouble. The true cost of an education isn't a new issue, it's just the gap that's widened. The Fab Five was griping about Michigan and the NCAA making money off them before Johnny Manziel was even born.

Now the unions are circling, and the NCAA isn't taking that threat seriously, either.

"This will probably be a long, drawn-out multi-year debate that goes on," Emmert said. "As far as contingency plans, no one has sat and figured out what a contingency plan would be. To be perfectly frank, the notion of using a union-employee model to address the challenges that do exist in intercollegiate athletics is something that strikes most people as a grossly inappropriate solution to the problems.

"It would blow up everything about the collegiate model of athletics," Emmert added.

Emmert likes to remind everyone that the NCAA isn't like other sports league, that decisions – and indecisions – come from the 300-plus "member institutions." The problem is that it's easier to herd cats than get that many schools, each of which has a different agenda, to agree on anything, especially if it means giving up any of their power or control.

The idea of letting schools make up the difference between the value of a scholarship and the actual cost of going to school has been on the table for several years now. This isn't a huge chunk of cash they're talking about, mind you, but enough money so the kids who generate billions for the NCAA have enough to do laundry or go out for a hamburger with their friends.

But the smaller schools torpedoed it, saying they didn't have the money. It wasn't until the five conferences that generate the most revenue in Division I started making noise about taking their brands and going home that the members got serious. In a matter of months, the framework was in place to give those conferences and their 65 schools more leeway in financial matters.

In exchange, Division I would remain one big, happy family. The men's basketball tournament, which provides the NCAA with the vast majority of its funding, would continue to exist in its current – and lucrative – form.

"Our world is not the same in a small program. We don't have the resources," said Rita Cheng, chancellor at Southern Illinois. "As long as we know that we can be competitive in the tournament and that our athletes can have opportunities, it is appropriate for us to say, `Your world is different than our world.'"

But allowing one group special privileges has never worked very well. At best, it breeds resentment and insecurity. At worst, it leads to lawsuits.

The NCAA needs to be fixed, no doubt about it. But it needs to be done right, in a way that not only addresses issues big and small, but will withstand the test of time and outside interests.

If the NCAA members can't do it, be assured that a judge or union will.

GALLERY: HIGHEST PAID COACHES IN MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 1: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke: $9,682,032
In the 2011 calendar year, the period covered by the university’s most recently available federal tax return, Krzyzewski was credited with the greatest single-year compensation total for a college coach since USA TODAY Sports began tracking pay of football and men's basketball coaches in 2006. Mark Dolejs, USA TODAY Sports

No. 2: Rick Pitino, Louisville: $5,758,338Pitino’s total includes a $600,000 one-time bonus for completing a two-period of his 10-year contract, and $200,000 in bonuses he got under his personal deal with Adidas for winning the Big East title and making the Final Four in 2012, the most recent year covered by his outside-income report. Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports

No. 3: John Calipari, Kentucky: $5,511,381
Back in the tournament after his team missed it in 2013, Calipari showed $311,381 on his most recently available outside income report, which was for 2012. The document showed more than half of that amount came from Nike. Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports

No. 4: Bill Self, Kansas: $4,960,763
Self’s compensation was unchanged from what he received in 2012-13. With the $50,000 bonus he gets for a Big 12 regular season title – KU has now won 10 in a row – he again will be over $5 million. But he gets no NCAA tournament bonuses unless the team gets to the Final Four. Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports

No. 5: Billy Donovan, Florida: $3,905,964
Under a recently announced three-year contract extension, Donovan this season received a one-time bonus of $250,000 and a $100,000 increase in his compensation for TV, radio and other promotional appearances and activities. Spruce Derden, USA TODAY Sports

No. 6: Tom Izzo, Michigan State: $3,893,954
Izzo’s total includes $113,900 paid by the university for 25 hours of personal use of a charter jet, as called for in his contract. He gets $400,000 in and a $25,000 merchandise credit annually under a personal contract with Nike that results in the team’s outfitting. Adam Hunger, USA TODAY Sports

No. 7: Steve Alford, UCLA: $3,473,973
When Alford left New Mexico for UCLA, he got an $845,615 signing bonus to cover the buyout he owed New Mexico and the taxes on that payment. At $2.6 million in recurring annual pay, he is making $350,000 more than his predecessor, Ben Howland, made last season. Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports

No. 9: Josh Pastner, Memphis: $2,650,000
In 2010-11, his second season as the Tigers’ coach, Pastner was making $915,000 in pay. Following the 2012-13 season, he received a $950,000 pay increase. He’s now making nearly triple what he made in 2010-11. He has not led the team beyond the NCAA tournament round of 32. David Butler II, USA TODAY Sports

No. 10: Sean Miller, Arizona: $2,627,806Under the terms of his contract, Miller is guaranteed a $100,000 raise annually. The team’s on-court performance during the 2013-14 season gave him an additional $265,000 in bonus money, and could get more depending on the team’s academic performance. Scott Olmos, USA TODAY Sports

No. 12: John Beilein, Michigan: $2,498,242Following the Wolverines’ run to last season’s NCAA tournament final, Beilein received a new six-year contract that included a $650,000 pay increase. Thomas J. Russo, USA TODAY Sports

No. 13: Jay Wright, Villanova: $2,489,332
According to the university’s most recently available federal income tax return, nearly all of Wright’s income for the 2011 calendar year was in the form of base compensation, listed as $2,451,265. Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports

No. 14: Travis Ford, Oklahoma State: $2,450,000
Working under a 10-year contract that began in July 2009, Ford received a scheduled $175,000 pay increase for the 2013-14 season and will get another $175,000 increase for the 2014-15 season. The deal does not include any performance incentives. Nelson Chenault, USA TODAY Sports

No. 15: Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh: $2,445,682During the 2011 calendar year, the period covered by the university’s most recently available Pennsylvania Right-to-Know documents, Dixon’s compensation included $1,350,020 in base pay and $925,862 in bonuses. He had another $129,400 in retirement and other deferred pay. Charles LeClaire, USA TODAY Sports

No. 16: Tony Bennett, Virginia: $2,291,100Bennett triggered a $500,000 bonus March 30 for completing his initial five-year contract term. (In April 2012, his deal was extended through March 2019.) He also triggered forgiveness of the last pro-rata portion of a $400,000 loan he’d gotten to pay a buyout to Washington State. John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports

No. 17: Bo Ryan, Wisconsin: $2,288,500
While Ryan’s compensation contractually increases by $25,000 annually, his self-reported outside income declined enough during the most recent year available that his total pay is lower for 2013-14 than it was for 2012-13. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports

No. 19: Scott Drew, Baylor: $2,133,120
During the 2011 calendar year, the period covered by the university’s most recently available federal income tax return, Drew’s compensation included $2,044,773 in base pay and $26,000 in bonuses. Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports

No. 20: Mark Gottfried, North Carolina State: $2,009,000
Gottfried received $59,000 in pay increases from what he was receiving in 2012-13, including a $9,000 rise in his base salary. Because his bonuses are built around his monthly base salary, the amounts he could have received as bonuses also increased. Rob Kinnan, USA TODAY Sports

No. 21: Dana Altman, Oregon: $2,000,000
After a 2012-13 season in which the Ducks went 28-9, won the Pac-12 tournament and reached the NCAA tournament round of 16, Altman received a contract extension that gave him a seven-year term; a $100,000 pay increase and a $100,000 one-time signing bonus. Casey Sapio, USA TODAY Sports